Behind my door is a stack of books about three feet high. All of them are business or self-help books that publishers send me on the off chance that I'll read, review, or mention one of them in a column or two.

I wish to thank the publishers for these free volumes. But I'd also like to inform them that I've been trying to read A Civil Action for about three months, and I'm only halfway through. So the chance of reading the 20 or so books behind my door -- or even one -- are pretty slim, unless, of course, I get trapped in my office for a month. On occasion, people who visit my office express some interest in one or two, and I give them away.

Business books -- the good ones -- are a great help to entrepreneurs who need advice and inspiration to pull them through the challenges of building a company. However, the market has become flooded with not only books but magazines and newspaper sections devoted to the entrepreneur. And there's online contingent.

I love reading about other entrepreneurs. Maybe I can pick up a strategy or two or see myself in some of them. A magazine piece I read last week about a company that has experienced wild growth because of its unconventional ways inspired me to rethink the way I run my own business.

The problem is: How on earth are we to find the time to read this stuff? I used to love reading The New York Times on Sunday, curling up on a couch with a cup of coffee and going through the sections.

I don't read The Times anymore. I just don't have the time -- or the room to store all the newspapers for recycling. The Internet's powerful influence in our daily lives has apparently done nothing to curb the number of trees chopped down to produce printed material. In fact, there's more in print now than ever. It used to be that you could carry the Sunday Times, a bag of bagels, and a coffee in one hand. Now, you need both hands just to keep The Times from spilling onto the street.

Time is such a vexing problem that most work-related reading or research occurs after hours or on off days -- if you're fortunate enough to have them. I once tried to set aside early mornings for reading, but I couldn't keep it up on a daily basis, so I abandoned it. And at the end of the day, I find I'm too whipped to read, especially if I don't get home until 10 p.m. I'd much rather tube-out and let the telly do the work.

I guess if I really wanted to, I could forego watching The Weather Channel or Jeopardy on weekdays and just read. I could also set aside Sunday afternoons to read instead of work. I can always keep a healthy stack of articles in the bathroom, the last place these days -- save your car -- where we are truly alone. Speaking of the car, I could buy audio books, but I can't get into them. It's not the same as reading.

It comes down to this: I miss reading, and I'd gladly trade my stack of books for the time to read just one.

George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work. His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at george@staffwriters.com.